Machine for forming battery-jars



J. H. TIiN BRINK AND A. V. MARTIN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING BATTERY IARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, I920.

1,363,695 Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. H. TEN BRINK AND A. V. MARTIN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING BATTERY JARS.

APPLICATION man ms. 28, 1920.

1,363,65. Patented Dec. 28. 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

am a 56 5% L L Will/Ill fitter we J. H. TEN BRINK AND A. V. MARTIN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING BATTERY JARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1920.

1,,363,.695a Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

v 5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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3 Hum 014/ 4139172 3;

J. H. TEN BRINK AND A. V. MARTIN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING BATTERY JARS.

APPLICATION HLED FEB. 26. 1920.

1,363,695., Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

I grwuflow Jam/2372x75 WWI/Z219 J. H. TEN BRINK AND A. V. MARTIN. VMACHINE FOR FORMING BATTERY JARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, I920.

Patented Dec. 28 1920.

' irregular.

JOHN H. TEN BRINK AND ALVIN V. MARTIN, 01B MUSKEN, MICHIGAN.

MACHINE FOR FORMING} BATTERY-JARS.

ees-nee.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. as, 31926 Application filed February 28, 1920. Serial No.362,070.

llhis invention relates to molding or press-' ing machines, andparticularly to machines designedfor forming battery jars of hardrubber, or forming articles of like character.

As far as known to us, battery jars of hard rubber are today made byhand, which is a more or less expensive method, due to the relativelyhigh cost of the labor employed, and to the fact that there is a verylarge percentage of Waste and defective jars. In the manufacture ofthese jars today,

. sheet rubber isused which is cut by hand,

folded over upon suitable mandrels or forms, and vulcanized. The sheetsof rubber and rubber composition are, therefore, more or less irregularand the resultant product is Av reinforcing strip is placed upon thebottom of each jar, and this is cut by hand andapplied by hand. Certainlugs extend across the lower portion of the jar, and these also are cutand inserted by hand at a relatively large expense. Furthermore, incutting these, the lugs are oftentimes too long or too short, and thiscauses the lower portion of the battery jar to be forced out in placesand depressed in other places.

In the manaufacture of the battery jars, it-takes 18 men 10 hours toturn out 2,500 of these battery jars, and 15% of these jars so turnedout will be defective and will have to be cast aside as unmarketable.Therefore, to produce'2,500 of these jars according to the presentmethod, about 2,940 jars will have to be manufactured.

The general object of this is to provide a machine whereby the hand worknecessary to use in the formation of battery jars will:

be largely eliminated, and whereby a more perfect battery jar will beturned out than is at present possible, this battery jar being seamless,having practically no irregularities of contour or formation, and havingwalls of a uniform thickness throughout their entire extent.

A further object is to provide a mechanlsm of this character comprisinga mold, as 1t may be called, with an interior mandrel,

and provide means for heating the mold for shiftably supporting themandrel therein and for forclng rubber into the space between themandrel and the mold to form the complete jar.

A further object is to provide means whereby the mandrel may be shiftedout of the mold to permit the removal of a man drel and the removal ofthe completed jar, and to permit the insertion of a new mandrel whennecessary, the mandrel being then carried back into the mold, andprovide a closure for the top of the mold in the form of a plston orplunger which will force the softened rubber into the space between themandrel and the mold to thereby form the lugs and reinforcing strip inone operation. A further object is to provide compressed air operatedmeans for shifting the plunger and for shifting the mandrel support.Another object is to provide means atjar may be stamped while it isstill soft.

Another object is to provide an improved form of mold for this purposewhich is formed in sections and in which the sections may be readilyshifted away from each other to permit the removal of the mandrel andcompleted jar from the mold and to permit the insertion of a newmandrel, and provide tached to the mold whereby the completed improvedlocking mechanism for these mold sections. A

A further object is to provide very simple means whereby compressed airmay be admittedto the cylinders in which the pistons for the mandrelsupport and plunger operate and for controlling exhaust from thecylinders. a

Other objects'have to do with the deta ls of construction andarrangements of parts as will hereinafter more fully appear. P

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of our jar molding mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the mold and-allied parts;

Fig. '3' is'a vertical section on the line 3-- 3 I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line of Fig;- 2;

fig. 5 is "a transverse section on the hue 5- 5 of 2;

' showing the lower corner partly broken Fig. 6 is an end elevation ofthe mold away;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view partly broken away of the completed jar;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the completed jar looking at the bottomto show the reinforce formed therein;

Fig. 9 is a' 'sectional view of one of the valves for controlling thepassage of air;

. Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1010 of Firr. 9;

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view through a mold and the mandrelshowing a modification of the mandrel support;

Fig. 12 is a section on the line 12l2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of one of the plates 70;

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a supporting plate which ismounted on the flanges 11 of suitable supporting standards 12 which areadapted to be attached to a table, bench, or other support by screwspassing through the apertures 13. These standards may extend up the fullheight of the machine for the support of the parts above, or thestandards may be in sections.

Mounted upon these standards, and above and in spaced relation to theplate 10, is a heating plate14 which may be of cast iron or any othersuitable material, and is hollow and is connected to a source of steamor other heating medium. This plate 14 is annular in form to provide acentral aperture through which is disposed the hub 15 of a cylinder head16, which is held to the heating plate by means of screws 17. Engagedwith interior screw-threads formed on the depending flange of the head16 is a cylinder 18, the lower end of which has screwthreaded engagementwith a lo'wer'head 19 held to the plate 10 by means of bolts 20. \Vithinthis cylinder'operates a piston 21, the piston rod 22 of which extendsupward through the hub 15 and is preferably keyed thereto. A coiledcompression spring 23 surrounds this piston rod and bears at its upperend against the head 16 and at its lower end against the piston. Thepiston extends through thebushing'or hub 15Iand carries upon its upperend a mandrel support 24, the upper end of the piston being manysided,as at 25, and the mandrel support having a many-sided socket fittingover this piston rod. It will thus be seen that when compressed air orother fluid medium is admitted beneath the piston 21, that the mandrelsupport will be carried upward and that when an outlet is provided forthis fluid medium, the mandrel will descend under the action of thespring 23.

Mounted upon the heating plate 14 is a mold composed of four sectionsarranged in pairs, each pair of sections being connected to each other.'The mold consists of the lat- Fig. 4. The other members 26 and 27 atthe corner diametrically opposite the point of hinged engagement haveoutwardly projecting lugs 30 which are recessed on their confrontingfaces to receive within them a coiled spring 31 which surrounds abolt 32which extends through the ears 30 and through an aperture in a clampinghandle 33, The clamping handle 33 has a cam-shaped inner face 34 whichoperates against the camshaped face 35 carried on the adjacent lug 30 sothat when the handle is turned in one position, the lugs 30 will'beclamped against each other, and when the handle is turned in theopposite direction, the spring 31 will act to force the lugs apart andthus open the mold sufliciently to permit the removal of the mandrel andof the completed article therefrom.

One of the members 27 is provided-at its 7 end adjacent the handle 33with outwardly projecting pairs of perforated lugs 36. All four of thesections 26 and 27 are rabbetted at their u per ends to provide abeveled shoulder 3 asillustrated in Fig. 2, uponwhich beveled shoulderthe plunger 38 rests when the plunger is down, this beveledv shoulderlimiting the descent of the plunger.

The plunger 38 is pinned or otherwise at- I tached to a plunger rod 39.Disposed upon brackets 40 extending from the standards of the machine isa late 41, the central portion of which is per orated for the passage ofthe plunger 39, and attached to this plate by bolts 42 is a cylinderhead 43, the central portion of which is formed with a hub 44 throughwhich the connecting rod passes and to which the connecting rod orplunger rod 39 is splined. Carried upon the head 43 is a cylinder 45,the upper end of which is closed by a head 46 likewise attached to anupper plate 47 forming part of the frame and preferably formed integralwith the standards. Carried upon the piston rod a piston 48 movingwithin the cylinder, and between the lower head of the cylinder and thispiston rod is a compression spring 49. The pistons 48 and 21 may be madein any suitable manner and require no special description.

Mounted upon the plunger 24 is a mandrel 50 which has the shape of theinterior of the battery jar and which is formed at its upper overlap thelongitudinally extending strips.

Thus these strips form a rectangular cup" within which the rectangularmandrel is 1,363,&

- end with the depressed portions 51 providing recesses 52 extendingtransversely across the mandrel from side to side, and designed to formthe transversely extending lugs in the completed jar. This mandrel issupported upon the plunger head 24: by means of four metallic strips 53,these strips, as illustrated in Fig. 5, being attached to all four sidesof the rectangular plunger head 24 by means of screws 54. The end stripssupported, these strips being somewhat resilient and clamping themandrel firmly in place. The strips have a thickness exactly equal tothe distance between the mandrel and the wall of the mold, thus spacingthe mandrel from the wall of the mold, and being designed to receive thesoftened rubber when the battery jar is being formed. These strips alsolimit the downward movement of the material forming the battery jar and,therefore, define what is to be the upper edge of thebattery jar. Thesestrips perform other functions which will be described in describing theoperation of the mechanism.

Pivoted between the lugs 36 is an arm 55 which projects below the-pivotbolt 56, as at 57, so as to normally rest against the side wall of themold and be supported in a horizontal position. This arm is providedwitha handle '58 and on its extremity carries a collar 59 supportingadie 60, which may be formed to carry. removable types 61 in an obviousand well known manner.

This die is for stamping or impressing into the side of the completedbattery jar the number of she battery jar, manufacturers name, or likeata.

The pistons 48 and 21 are designed to be operated by means of compressedair or other fluid medium, and'to this end we show a supply pipe 62which is intended to be connected to a source ofcompressed air whichextends down to a point somewhat above the mold and is then laterallyextended and connected bya T 63 to branch pipes 64 and 65, the branchpipe 64 leading into the upper end of the cylinder i5, while the branchpipe 65 leads into thelower end of the cylinder 18. Each of these branchpi es adjacent the the corresponding branch pipe will be permitted so asto carry compressed air or other fluid medium from -the supply pipe tothe corresponding cylinder, and which, when under pressure is admittedbeneath the piston 21 and this will cause the piston to move upward,carrying the plunger 24 to the top 0 the mold. At this time, of course,the plunger 38 which forms the cover of the mold is also raised to itsfull extent. The plunger 38, when raised, should be sufliciently high sothat a mandrel 50 may be inserted between the plungers and disposedwithin the cup formed'by the strips 53. It is to be noted at this pointthat the mandrel 50, as illustrated in Fig. 5, is rounded at thecorners, while the on is square at the corners, and this space gee Fig.4) formed between the rounded corners of the mandrel and the squarecorners of the cup or holder, when the mandrel is in place, is designedto receive the surplus rubber which will be caused to flow thereinto bypressure.

'The overflow spaces which receive the surplus rubber, being located asthey are at the lower. end of the mold, receive surplus rubber, as thereis no opening at the top of the mold when the die or plunger 38 is in acompressing position, and it only escapes at the. bottom corners wherethese overflow s aces are formed, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

y placing; these overflow spaces at the lower end of the mold, that isthe-end away from-the plunger 38, the jar made bythis machine iscompletely formed before any surplus rubber escapes, and this is a veryimportant feature of the invention. WVhen the mandrel with the formedjar is removed, the overflow will usually remain on the bottom cornersof the mandrel. ofi immediately or broken or ground ofi after the ar isvulcanized, and if'the rubber by chance remains in the space between themembers 53 and the rounded corners of the mandrel, it is easily removedby springing these members 53 open.

While the mandrel is being lowered, the mold sections are unlocked, andwhen the mandrel is lowered completely, then the mold sections arelocked by operating the handle '33 in the manner heretofore described,and this looks the sections of the -mold together. A pieceof uncuredrubber is then placed-within the mouth of the mold, that is on top ofthe mandrel, and the valve 68 is then turned to its intake position topermit steam or compressed air to pass into the upper cylinder 45,causing the depression of the die or plunger 38. This will force theThis may be cut' rubber, which has been rendered soft and semi-fluid bythe heat of the heating plate, into the space between the mandrel andthe mold and compresses this rubber so that every portion of this spaceis filled. After a suitable length of time thevalve 68 is turned toexhaust the air or other fluid under pressure from the cylinder 45 andthe die or plunger 38 will return to its fully raised position. Thehandle 33 is then turned to unlock the sections of the mold, whichspread by reason of the spring 31, and thus free the mold sections fromthe rubber. The

valve controlling the inlet of fluid to the cylinder 18 is then openedand the fluid operating against the piston 21 lifts the plunger 24 ormandrel support upward, carrying the cup formed of the strips 53with theuncured rubber in the shapenedbattery jar upward out of the mold. Whenthe battery jar has been lifted out of the mold and before it is removedfrom the cup, the handle 58 is used to operate the arm 55 and impress inthe soft rubber the types or other dies 61. The mandrel with the formedjar on its outside is now taken out of the cup and the jar with themandrel still inside it is sent to be cured. Then the overflow of rubberis taken out of the corners of the cup formed of the strips 53 and themachine is ready to make the next jar.

. It is to be particularly noted that the strips 53' are drawn inward attheir lower ends so that the upper edges of the strips are urged outwardagainst the inside face of the mold, and thus when the plunger 24 islifted, these strips act to clean and scrape the interior face of themold, thus cleaning out any corrosion which may be left on the moldplates as the cup with the mandrel and completed battery jar are liftedout to the mouth of the mold.

In Fig. 7 we illustrate the completed battery jar A. It will be notedthat the completed jar has lugs B extending across its ottom, and theselugs are of even height,

and that there is a reinforcing thickness'C at the bottom of the jar.This thickness may be in' the form of a strip applied to the bottom ofthe ar, or it may be a mere thickened portion at the bottom of. the jar,but in either case this reinforcementis formed in our machine when thebattery jar is formed, whereas in making ordinary battery jars thisreinforcing strip or thickness must be put on by hand. Further, it willbe seen that the lugs B are formed in the jar at the time that it ismolded and thereby eliminate the defects due to hand work andirregularities thereof. This machine will eliminate over 60% of thelabor costs, and it'- formed in which seams and joints are enf it isnecessary that with the ordinary jar it should be ground in order thatthe jars may have the exact dimensions re uired. 75% of this grinding iseliminated by this mechanism. The use of this mechanism eliminates thenecessity of calendering the plastic rubber, to an exact thickness so asto form sheets which may be made into better jars. The rubber comes insquare blocks and the necessity of calendering the rubber so as to formit into sheets having a certain predetermined thickness causes therejection of a very large amount of rubber because it of the wrongthickness or because it 1s wrinkled. The amount rejected approximates15% of what is daily used. Furthermore, by the use of our mechanism, weeliminate the use of large rolls, called linings, which are Veryexpensive.

Attention is called -to the fact that in order to prevent the mold fromshifting upon the heating plate and hold the mold centered on theheating plate and with relation to the core, we extend the pintle 29down into the heating plate and at the opposite corner, that isdiagonally opposite to the pintle 29, we provide a pin and recess theplate 26 at 71 and the plate 27 at 72 to embrace this centering pin 70so as to hold the mold in its centered position on the heating platewhen the mold is closed and embrace the core.

In Figs. 11 and 12 we show a modification of the means for supportingthe mandrel within the mold chamber, in which pivotal mandrel clampingstrips are mounted upon the mandrel support 24 in lace of the resilientstrips 53 heretofore escribed. In these figures, 27 designates, asbefore, the mold, which is open at its upper end, butis larger indiameter than the mold heretofore referred to, and rests upon theheating late 14 in the manner heretofore descrlbed. Normally disposed atthe lower end of the mold is the mandrel support 24*, and pivoted tothis mandrel support are four plates 74. Each of these plates 74: isthickened at its lower end to provide a shoulder 75, and each plate ispivoted upon a pintle 76. The upper end of each plate is laterallydeflected, as at 77, t6 rest upon the inclined shoulder 37 at the upperportion of the mold, and then each plate extends upward to the top ofthe mold and is formed with an outwardl extending flange 78. Thethickness of eacl i plate 74 below the shoulder 75 isequal to thedistance between the mold wall 27 and the mandrel, but above thisshoulder each plate is relatively thinner so as to provide a spacebetween the mandrel and the inner face of drel is lifted by the upwardmovement of the mandrel support 24, these mandrel en- 'gag'i ng memberswill open out, as illustrated ig. 11, and thus permit the removal of themandrel and the formed battery 'ar. It

will, therefore,-be seen that the man rel cup or holder formed by thefour plates does not difier in principle from the'mandrel cup or holderillustrated in Fi s. 1 to 10. The secend form of cup or he der, however,automatically disengages from the mandrel when the mandrel and, thecompleted cup are lifted above the mold.

It will be understood, of course, that the rubber composition which isused in this machine comesin, square blocks, and that the blocks willhave the same cubic area that will be required to form the complete jar.This rubber block is placed at the mouth of the mold and flows about themandrel and the die or mold closure com resses the rubber as the rubberis heate and rendered fluent. The mandrel may be formed with an openingor slot 50? in one of its walls which is below the up er edge of thestrips 53, and therefore, close by these strlps when the mandrel is inplace within the mold.

It will be seen that this machine is designed to mold battery jarsbefore they are vulcanized and that. with this machine only a certaindefinite amount of rubber is placed at the mouth of the mold and thisrubber under heat and under pressure from only one plunger 38 causes therubber to flow in placed in position against the sides and bottom of amandrel. Therefore, our machine saves the time required in this wrappingoperation or in the placing of sheets of rubber in position around themandrel. Furthermore, where sheets of rubber are used, eitherwrappedaround a mandrel or placed against d the sides of the same it isnecessary that the sheets of rubber should be calendered, that is theplastic rubber must be rolled to an exact thickness before being used.Our machine forms a jar complete from a solid piece of rubber compoundplaced in the upper portion of the mold which the heat renders fluent,this fluent rubber compound being forced into the space between themandrel and the mold by the plunger 38. Our machine does away with thenecessity of cutting the plastic rubber-to a certain size and onlyrequires that a piece of rubber be cut of sufficient size to fit overthe top of the mandrel between the mandrel and the plunger. 'Uncured'rubber of any desired shape or condition is used and only one plunger isused to compress and cause the rubber to flow about the mandrel.

We claim 1. A mechanism for molding battery jars including a mold havinan exterior form of the battery jar, means or heating the mold, and amandrel disposed within the mold and having a shape exteriorly of theinterior of the battery jar, and means at one end of the mold forforcing fluent material through the space between the mandrel and themold, the opposite end of the mold having overflow spaces leading fromthe end of the space within which the jar is formed.

2. A mechanism for molding battery jars comprising a heating plate, amold carried upon the heating plate and heated thereby,

a mandrel or core normally disposed within the mold, a plunger formingthe top of the mold and adapted to be forced downward to force thematerial of the jar into the space between the mandrel and the mold, andmeans for lifting the completed jar and the mandrel out of the mold.

3. A mechanism for molding battery jars including a mold, means forheating the mold, a mandrel support disposed within the mold, a plungerforming the top of the mold, and means for shifting the plunger into themold or removing it therefrom, and means forshifting the mandrel supportout of or into the mold.

4. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a mold formed insections, means whereby the sections may 7 be closed or opened, meansfor heating the mold, a mandrel support disposed within the mold, aplunger forming a closure for the mold, and means for shifting theplunger into or out of the mold, and means for shifting the mandrelsupport from a position at one end of the mold to a the mold.

5. A mechanism for forming battery jars comprising a sectional mold,means whereby the sections of the mold may be clamped together orreleased and spread apart, a manrel support disposed within the mold andmovable longitudinally therethrough and having marginal walls forming acup to enposition at the other end of gage the mandrel, said marginalwalls bearing against the inner face of the mold and the outer face of amandrel, a plunger forming a closure for the mold, and means forreciprocating the plunger into or out of the mouth of the mold, andmeans for reciprocatingkthe mandrel support.

6.- mechanism for forming battery jars comprising a heati plate, acentral mold carried by the heating plate, the sections of lot the moldbeing hinged to each other whereby the mold may be opened up or closed,means for urging the mold sections apart, means therewith, a

for clamping the mold sections together, a rod passing through theheating plate and into the mold, a m'andrel supportdisposed within themold and mounted upon said rod and having means to engage the mandrellunger formin a closure for the mouth 0 the mold an movable into saidmouth, and means for reciprocating said last named plunger and forreciprocating the rod supporting the mandrel support. 7. A mechanism formolding battery jars comprising a heating plate, a sectional moldmounted thereon, resilient means urging the sectionsapart from eachother, means for clamping the sections in engagement with each other, apiston rod passing through the heating plate, a mandrel support disposedwithin the mold and connected to said rod, a piston on the rod, acylinder in which the piston operates, a plunger constituting a closurefor the mold and disposed at the opposite end of the mold and movablethereinto, a piston to which the plunger is connected, a cylinder inwhich the piston operates, means urging said pistons away from eachother, and means for admitting fluid pressure to either one of saidcylinders to cause the inward movement of the pistons therein and forrelieving pressure within either one of the cylinders to thereby permitthe outward movement of the pistons.

8. A mechanism for molding battery jars including a mold formed ofsections hinged to each other, a spring urging said sections apart, amanually operable clamp for urging the sections together, a mandrelsupport disposed within the mold and longitudinally shiftabletherethrough and having on each margin a, resilient metallic stripbearing against the inner surface of the mold and adapted to bearagainst a mandrel disposed within said strips and resting on said sup- 7port, and a closure movable into or out of the mouth of the mold, andmeans for shifting the plunger into or out of the mold and for shiftingthe mandrel support toward or from the mouth of the mold.

9. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a, sectional mold,means urging said sections apart to open the mold, means for clampingsaid sections together to close the mold, a mandrel support normallydisposed in one end of the mold and having resilient clamping strips atits margins, a mandrel less in cross sectional area than the crosssectional area of the mold and having one end engaged by said strips,the strips connecting the space between the mandrel and the mold bearingagainst the inner face of the mold, and, a plunger constituting aclosure for one end of the mold and shiftable into or out of the mold,and means for shifting the plunger into or out of the mold and forshifting the mandrel support from the mouth of the mold to the oppositeend thereof, or vice versa.

10. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a supporting frame,

a heatin plate carried by said frame, a sectional mold mounted upon theheating plate,means resiliently urging said sections apart to open themold, means for clamping said sections together, a mandrel supportdisposed within the mold and normally resting upon the heating plate, acylinder disposed below the heating plate, a piston operating in thecylinder and having its piston rod connected to the mandrel support, amandrel normally mounted upon said support and movable therewith into orout of the mold, a plunger constituting a closure for the mouth of themold and movable into or out of the mouth of the mold, the mold havingshoulders against which the plunger bears to limit the inward movementof the plunger, a cylinder supported upon said frame above the mold, apiston operating therein and having a piston rod connected to theplunger, and means for admitting fluid pressure into said cylinders toshift the pistons therein and shift therewith into or out of the mold, aplunger constituting a closure for the mouth of the mold and movableinto or out of the mouth of the mold, the mold having shoulders againstwhich the plunger bears to limit the inward movement of the plunger, acylinder supported upon said frame above the mold, a piston operatingtherein and having a piston rod connected to the plunger, and means foradmitting fluid pressure into said cylinders to shift the pistonstherein and shift the plunger and mandrel support, said mandrel at itsend toward the plunger being formed with transversely extending, spacedrecesses whereby to form transverse lugs on the battery jar.

12. A mechanism for molding battery jars including a rectangular moldformed in sections, means urging said sections away from each other,means for forcing said sections toward each other, means for heating themold, a mandrel support disposed within the mold and normally resting onthe heating plate and rectangular in plan, resilient metallic stripsattached to the edges of sald mandrel support and extending into themold and bearing against the inner faces of the mold, said stripsintersecting each other at right angles, a mandrel disposed upon saidmandrel support and'engaged by said strips, said mandrel having roundedcorners opposed to the right angular corners of the strips, a plungermovable into or out of the mouth of the mold, and means for shiftingsaid plunger into or out of the mold and for shifting the mandrelsupport toward and from the mouth of the mold.

13. A mechanism of the character described including supportingstandards, a

hollow plate mounted upon said standards and adapted to be filled with aheating element, a plate mounted upon the standard below the heatingplate, a cylinder connected at one end to the second named plate and atits upper end to the heating plate, a piston operating in the cylinderand hav ng a piston rod passing through the heating plate, a rectangularmold formed of sections, the sections being pivoted to each other at onecorner of the-mold, said mold resting upon the heating plate, a springdisposed to open the mold at the oppositecornor from the hinge, a clampadapted to close the mold at the last named point, a rec tangularmandrel support mounted upon said piston rod and normally resting on theheating plate. resilient strips attached to the edges of said supportand bearing against the inner faces of the mold, a mandrel having oneendclosed and the other end open and having its open end disposed withinand engaged by said strips and resting upon the mandrel support, themandrel being spaced from the inner faces of the mold by said strips, aplate mounted upon the supporting frame above the mold, a cylindersupported upon said plate, a piston operating in the cylinder and havinga piston rod extending through the plate and toward the mold, a plungercarried by said piston rod and constituting a closure for the mold, themold having shoulders at its mouth against which said plunger is adaptedto rest, springs urging said pistons outward,-and independent means foradmitting fluid under pressure into said cylinders behing the pistons toforce the pistons toward each other against the action of said spring.

14. A mechanism for formin articles of the character describedcomprising a mold, means for elevating the articles after they areformed into a position above the mold,

and an impressing stamp mounted upon the mold and adapted to be shiftedto bring the stamp against the side Wall of the articlre to thereby markit.

15. A mechanism of the character as stated in claim 2, furthercharacterized by having an arm pivotally mounted upon the A side wall ofthe mold, an impressing die adj ustably carried upon said arm andadapted, when the arm is raised, to engage the exterior face of a moldedjar.

16. In molding mechanism, a supporting plate and a mold formed of twosections, the sections being pivoted to each other and upon the plate topermit the sections to be moved toward and from each other, the freeends of the sections being complementarily recessed upon theirconfronting faces a centering pin disposed in said plate with which saidrecesses coact when the mold is closed, and means for opening andclosing the mold and looking it in a closed position.

17. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a sectional'mold, amandrel support normally disposed in one end of the mold, clampingstrips carried at the margins of the mandrel support and extending upabove the same, a mandrel less in cross sectional area than the crosssectional area of the mold and to be engaged by said strips, the stripsfilling the space between the mandrel and the mold and bearing a ainstthe inner face of the mold, and a p unger constituting a closure for oneend of the mold and shiftable into or out of the mold, and means forshifting the mandrel support from the mouth of the mold to the oppositeend thereof, or vice versa.

18. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a mold, a mandrelsupport normally disposed in one end of the mold and movablelongitudinally therethrou 'h, and mandrel holding means carried by saidmandrel support.

19. A mechanism for forming battery jars including a mold, a mandrelsupport normally disposed in one end of the mold andhaving resilientmandrel clamping strips extending upward from its margins.

20. mechanism for forming battery jars including a mold, a mandrelsupport normally disposed in one end of the mold and having mandrelstrips pivoted to its margins, the lower ends of said strips having athickness equal to the distance between the mold, and a mandrel carriedby said mandrel support, the upper portions of the strips having a lessthickness than the lower portions, and means for reciprocating themandrel support longitudinally through the mold.

21. A mechanism for formin battery jars including a mold having si ewalls. and closed at one end but open at the other end, a mandreldisposed within the mold and havin one end below thelevel of the "openend 0 the mold to receive rubber between the mandrel and the top of theopen end of the mold means for heating the mold and includin of the moldand force the fluent rubber into the space between the mold and themandrel.

22. A method of forming battery jars consisting in disposing a mandrelwithin a mold, disposing rubber composition in the mold, heating themold to render the rubber composition fluent and forcing in one wall ofthe mold to force the fluent rubber into the space .between the mandreland the mold. v

23. A mechanism for forming battery ars a mold having side walls, themold belng closed at one end but open at the other end, a mandreldisposed within the mold and having one end below the open end of themold to receive rubber between the mandrel and the top of the open endof the mold, said mandrel having rounded corners, means on the closedend of the mold for embracing the mandrel, said means comprising membersextending at right angles to each other whereby an overflow space isleft between the corners formed by the adjacent ends of said members andthe rounded corners of the mandrel, and means for heating the mold andthe rubber therein, and means for closing the open end of the mold andforcingthe fluent rubber into the space bet-ween the mold and themandrel. In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures.

JOHN H. TEN BRINIQ ALVIN V. MARTIN.

